Simultaneously, the same set of processes also take place in the country where the delivery has to be facilitated. Mumbai-based Cogoport weeds out the pains by offering the solution on a single platform; and hence, merchants can plan their shipments in advance, enabling efficiencies.

Launched in May 2016, Cogoport is an online international freight exchange that leverages technology to make the most cost-effective match between exporters and importers on one hand and ocean and air freight carriers on the other.

“We provide price comparison for trucking, custom and inland docking charges. Combining technology and data, Cogoport’s complex algorithm takes into account millions of line items such as prices, transit times, vessel details for one lakh port pairs across the world and hundreds of suppliers, among other variables,” points out Purnendu Shekhar, Co-founder and CEO of Cogoport.

Cogoport wants to be an Indian answer to global heavyweights

Founded by Purnendu Shekhar, Kunal Rathod, Nishant Dalmia and Harsh Kumar, Cogoport eyes to become India’s answer to global giants in the space including Flexport, Freightos and Xeneta. Purnendu is a seasoned logistics and supply chain professional, with over 20 years of experience.

Prior to Cogoport, Purnendu had stints at world’s leading providers of supply chain solutions Panalpina Group and third party logistics providers Damco.

Kunal is an ex-engineer and entrepreneur who has tried his hands in different businesses. Harsh is an ex-banker and Nishant has worked earlier with brands like Housing.com and Amazon.

“To discover best freight rates for customers by offering price comparison across players, we allow customers to compare rates and book shipment as well as track it on the go,” says Purnendu.

Cogoport offers price comparisons across players, while asset owners can bid for a freight order in case of high demand. The company also offers door-to-door services by way of price comparisons for trucking, custom charges and inland docking charges from the same platform.

Size of opportunity, road ahead and competition

According to industry estimates, the global logistics market is currently estimated to be around $3.5 trillion. India spends around 14.4 percent of its GDP on logistics and transportation compared to less than 8 percent by the other developing countries.

India’s freight transport market is expected to grow at a CAGR of 13.35 percent by 2020. Cogoport has clocked an annual run rate of $10 million so far, with ocean freight accounting for 95 percent of it.

“Cogoport wants to achieve scale and trigger revenue streams which will be largely from our suppliers’ commission, a commission from banks and other financial institutions and keep evaluating opportunities in international geographies,” concluded Purnendu.

While the company claims to have no competition from any Indian startups, it competes with global heavyweights in the space including Flexport, Freightos and Xeneta.